It’s difficult to fathom that 20 million people are on the brink of starvation in Sub-Sharan Africa and the Middle East, but the statistic is true. In fact, the region is facing the largest humanitarian crisis in over seventy years and if no help is provided 1.4 million children are at risk of death. Not only is weather to blame for the lack of crops, but political unrest, regional conflicts, and displacement have all placed a heavy burden on countries that cannot feed vast swaths of their citizens.

“We stand at a critical point in history. Already at the beginning of the year, we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the UN,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien told the Security Council in March.

In order to save men, women, and children from starving to death in South Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, and surrounding countries, a mass appeal to the American people by eight of the largest global NGOs is currently underway. The appeal is being called now because if more time goes by more people are at risk of dying.

Called the Global Emergency Response Coalition, CARE, Save the Children, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, World Vision, Oxfam, and Plan International have collectively created the Hunger Relief Fund. The Fund allows American citizens to donate to hunger relief through July 28. Their donations will be matched dollar for dollar by corporate partners including Pepsico and BlackRock. Other partners include Google, Twitter, and Visa.

“Drought, displacement, and conflict have converged with alarming consequences,” according to the chief executive officers of the organizations in the Global Emergency Response Coalition. “In the 21st century, innocent children should not be dying from hunger. People caught in this crisis are generously opening their homes and sharing what little they have, but they have run out of time and resources — they need our help now.”

The Hunger Relief Fund appeal only lasts through July 28. No donation is too small. Donate today! For every dollar you donate, Pepsico and BlackRock will match all donations up to $2 million dollars.

I love all kinds of chocolate. I love dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate with caramel, chocolate with nuts, you make it and I’ll eat it. This company, Tony’s Chocolonely, however, has decided to make the delicious desert the right way. Until yesterday I had no idea there was still slavery in the world, and I definitely didn’t know slaves harvested cocoa beans in Ghana and the Ivory Coast to provide me with the sweet treat that I love so much. And to make it worse the slaves harvesting these cocoa beans are children! Can you believe that? It is 2017 and there are still people in the world who are treated like dirt so we can enjoy a small bar of chocolate that only provides a short period of happiness.

Six Flavors of Delectable Chocolate

That’s why this new chocolate company I’ve discovered is so important. Teun van de Keuken, a Dutch journalist, discovered that large companies in the chocolate industry were buying cocoa from plantations that had child slavery which is unacceptable! He ate twelve chocolate bars and then decided to turn his back on the tainted sweets and created his own chocolate company to combat the cocoa slave industry. So Tony’s Chocolonely was born.

Chocolate Made 100% Slave Free

Tony’s Chocolonely has become the largest Dutch chocolate company in less than ten years, showing that you don’t need child slavery to have a profitable company. And let me tell you, the chocolate is delicious.

When You Open It Up It’s In A Golden Wrapper

First of all the wrapper encasing the sweet treats is golden which is very reminiscent of the golden wrapper in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Secondly, the inside of the paper contains a message explaining the story of the brand and their duty to help children around the world.

There’s a message inside the wrapper

The inventive uneven squares in each bar show the inequality in the chocolate industry. And last but not least I have tried two of the seven flavors and they are amazing.

The first one I ate was dark chocolate almond sea salt and it was delectable. There were plenty of almonds and the sea salt was a nice surprise that only enhanced the taste of the chocolate bar. The second flavor was dark chocolate coffee crunch and it was incredible! There was literally a crunch of coffee in every semi-sweet bite. This is the perfect bar to eat with coffee. There are four other flavors that I haven’t tried yet but I know they’re all going to be delicious.

Tony’s Chocolonely is not only a fantastic Dutch company but last fall they entered the U.S. via Portland. Now you can obtain the delicious chocolate throughout this wonderful country and I am ecstatic. The sweets are so important to the world and so magnificently tasty that they have definitely found a new customer.

And the extra special thing about Tony’s Chocolonely is their incredibly affordable prices. Their large bars which are six ounces of delicious chocolate are only $4.99 and their small 1.8 ounce bars are $1.99. Yes, the chocolate is very inexpensive. It’s nine days until Mother’s Day and if you would love to give your mother some tasty chocolate get her these amazing chocolate bars in their largest size. She will, first of all, love the taste plus she’ll love the story behind the wonderful brand.

I’m so pleased to discover a new brand that not only is very, very delicious but is also great for the world. If you see this chocolate at a store you have to try it. This delectable sweet will put a smile on your face for two reasons, it’s delicious and it’s good for the world.

Thank you for reading my post and I hope you’ll try this chocolate. It’s truly worth getting. Have a beautiful day!

In February the United Nations officially declared a famine in South Sudan. What is most disheartening about this most recent famine in the world’s youngest country is it’s largely man-made. Constant infighting among South Sudanese opposition forces and the government makes growing crops nearly impossible. And, the instability in the country continues to drive up food costs. 100,000 people are directly suffering from famine, and another 4.9 million are living in extremely food insecure situations according to the United Nations. One million children in South Sudan are malnourished.

In April, Congress unanimously called upon the Unites States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the World Food Program to continue food aid to the millions affected by the famine. Congress, however, did not appropriate new relief funding to the region keeping in step with the Trump administration’s continued cuts in foreign aid.

The Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said last week that if nothing is done, 20 million people could starve to death within the next six months in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, and northern Nigeria combined.

“Famine does not just kill people, it contributes to social instability and also perpetuates a cycle of poverty and aid dependency that endures for decades,” said the UN FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva.

While the problem is monumental there has been a budget put aside for famine relief by the international aid community. Governments will also have to do their part to help stabilize the region including the United States, even though the task of some in Congress to attach new funding to the cause seems well-intentioned, but probably a pipe dream for now. There are organizations that you can support with your own donations to support famine relief.

There are organizations that you can support with your own donations. Here are five I recommend because I have seen their work in the field and have always remained impressed by their infrastructure and aid relief. Links go directly to donation pages.

The Red Nose Day campaign to end child poverty returns in the U.S. on Thursday, May 25, in conjunction with a night of special programming and the third annual “Red Nose Day Special” on NBC.

One of the best ways to help vulnerable children in low-and-middle-income countries is by telling their authentic stories to those who can help make their lives a little better.

Along with Comic Relief, Ed Sheeran recently traveled to West Point, one of west Africa’s largest and most dangerous slums, in Liberia’s capital Monrovia. There he saw children whose lives have been routinely ravaged by poverty, the Ebola crisis, and an economy that was devastated by the notorious disease that killed thousands. Today, an estimated 14,000 children (some as young as seven) are living and working on Monrovia’s streets.

In Liberia, Sheeran shot a video set to “What Do I Know,” a track from Ed’s latest album Divide to bring awareness to street kids who live in Monrovia.

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